Kingdom Solutions

Recently I decided to embark on a new project, build a PVR with Linux and MythTV. A PVR introduced to my TV setup basically gives me the following abilities:

• I can record TV shows
• I can mark every episode of my favourite TV shows to be recorded automatically whenever they’re aired
• TV shows are recorded to a hard drive in widescreen digital format
• I can watch a TV show on any computer in my home
• I can pause live TV
• MythTV will automatically mark commercials allowing me to skip commercials when watching the show
• I can record or watch a show without having to find a place on a tape (like you would with a VCR)
• I can record multiple shows at once and record multiple shows whilst watching a previously recorded show

You can also achieve this by purchasing a brand name box from a retailer which does many of the same functions. The reasons I decided to go with MythTV are:

• I am a glutton for punishment a retail PVR will generally plugin and just work, but MythTV requires some serious Linux knowledge to get working properly.
• It is simple to add more storage to the system
• It is simple to add more tuners to the system to record more channels at one
• I already had a computer lying around that could be used for this task, so I didn’t have to pay around $800 AUD on a retail PVR box.

So this is MythTV in a nutshell. The main point of this article is to talk about the problems that I’ve had in setting it up. If you’re more of a technical type of person and are interested in setting up something like this, here are some of my experiences.

MythTV is great. It’s a very flexible system which can take a while to learn, but it has a huge amount of power in how it records and manages these recordings.

I chose to use the Hauppauge Nova-T 500 PCI card as my tuner card. This is a great card as it incorporates 2 tuners on one PCI card. This saves having to have a system with additional PCI slots available. The Nova T 500 can do fully digital, High Definition sources, so it really rocks!

While not going into great detail (there are other guides around for that type of thing), to set it up I had to obtain firmware, install a more recent kernel, compile updated v4l-dvb drivers from source control and build Mythtv from the latest SVN.  However, I had problems.  Mostly the system works quite well, but I experienced the dreaded USB disconnect problem. Unfortunately I got bitten by it after reading on the LinuxTV Wiki that the problems have been fixed, they haven’t.

Since I built the system, I’ve tried a new firmware attempt and a new v4l-dvb driver from source, but still no dice. I get problems every couple of days with recordings that disappear.

Having an automated PVR system like MythTV has been awesome. I can now set whatever shows I like to watch, plus each week mark any particular once off screenings, for example a couple of movies. Set and forget. My shows are available to watch whenever I want, NOT whenever the TV station decides for me. Freedom!

So, this is a note for anyone thinking of doing it, do it. It’s worth it. BUT, the Nova-T 500 is not reliable enough to recommend, you’ll have to do it with multiple individual tuner cards. Driver updates and work on the bugs is still progressing however, so I’m holding out for some stability soon.